How It Ends
by SamaratinToSin
Summary: The 4th and Final book in the Grace arc! Just as things settle down, a new villian appears and he is determined to use the Ward of Souls to gain power. What is the Ward of Souls? Can this villian be stopped? Will ACIS and the penguins ever be the same again?
1. Chapter 1

I feel the pain and cringe. I don't want to open my eyes. How many are dead? Wounded? Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands maybe. I felt my soul die. Was there anything to even go back to?

The door to the hospital room opens and closes. I hold my breath, hoping.

Someone says my name and I cautiously open my eyes. The tears sting my face, the deep cut that isn't bandaged. When I see the visitor, I shut my eyes tightly again and let hope escape with my breath.

"It's ok." the visitor says. "You're alright. Do you need a doctor?"

I shake my head as much as I can stand it. That's the last thing I need.

The door opens again, and this time a flood of smells races in. Smoke. Seawater. Gasoline. Fresh cut grass. Trees. I shut them out.

It starts hurting to breathe and I find myself staring at the needle. I almost laugh at how ironic it really is, that tiny peice of metal, the cause of so much trouble is now keeping me alive.

The second visitor rests their head on the first visitor's shoulder and starts sobbing.

I slip unconcious and only catch bits of the next few hours. Apparently, I'm not in any pain. I have no memory of what happened. I was conscious and conversational when I arrived.

Eventually, someone comes in and sits by my bed. They stay there for I don't know how long. I hear them move around the room impatiently every once in a while, but I don't care. I still don't want to think about anything.

Not the visitors.

Not the doctors.

Not the smells.

Not the needles.

Not the dead and wounded.

Not the pain.

And especially not...

**_3 Days Earlier_**

"Skippa! Hurry up! You'll miss Grace!" Private yells from in front of the television.

Skipper rolls his eyes, _'Yeah, miss Grace.' _he laughs but joins the young penguin anyways.

Grace's press conference is scheduled for 3 pm Bejing time. Which means 3 am Central Park time.

Taralyn yawns and rubs the back of her head. "This time difference is going to be the death of me." she mumbles.

"Well, Grace seems to be adjusting well." Kowalski yawns next.

"Shhh. We'll miss her!" Private demands, before yawning himself.

Rico yawns which causes the hiccups.

The screen flashes once and the ACIS International symbol appears.

The symbol disolves and a large room with a stage replaces it.

"We are a few minutes away from Commissioner Rivera's big announcement." says a male voice.

The camara moves around and shows Hawk and Deliah.

"You have to know that former Commander Hawk Lamardi is thrilled to see her making this much of a come back." responds a female voice.

"You have to know that Grace is thrilled that Hawk is retiring." Taralyn mocks.

Rico laughs then hiccups again.

"Yes," the male is compeating to be in charge of the segment, "Just over a year ago, Agent Rivera was in some troubled waters of her own."

The television screen suddenly flashes static then back to life. The lights in the conference room shut off completly.

Grace's voice is heard, "Shut down the broadcast!"

A red light flicks on and a shadow races across the stage. "Grace!" It's a slight Russian accent.

"Court? Shellie? What is going on!" Erato's Jersey accent yells.

Maniacal laughter fills the air and again, Grace demands "Shut it down, Shell!"

"I am Bashvault. Here to enact my revenge." a loud voice says.

In the glow of the red light, Grace, Hawk, and Erato are standing on the stage, searching for the source of the voice.

"Shellie! Shut it down!"

The lights flicker and a tall cloaked figure appears on the stage. Then, the screen goes black.

The penguins stand frozen, staring at the screen.

"Like I said. You'll miss Grace." Private responds

"Who was that?" Taralyn gasps.

"He said his name was Bashvault." Koawlski starts for the lab, "Let's run a background check."

"Wait, I remember that name. Isn't he the villian that broke the chandelier?" Private asks.

"Yes, Private. It is."

"Well, whatever happened to him?" Taralyn chimes in.

"After he disrupted the banquet, he made a bee-line for the evidence locker, where he thought the Ward of Souls was. He ran into Manfredi and Johnson. It wasn't much of a fight. Bashvault had just thrown a 60 pound dog 50 yards through the air, two penguins were hardly a challenge. He made it into the evidence locker. Court and I shut the door. Thinking we had him trapped, when Shellie brought Hawk and Sarge though, he was gone. Just poof, gone." Skipper crosses the room to the coffee pot. "I have a feeling it's going to be a long night."

"Why wait this long before attacking again?" Kowalski asks, "It just doesn't add up."

"Some psychological disorders actually cause one to think they need to allow their ira to compile until it becomes intolerable." Taralyn shrugs.

"Remind me why we needed TWO Kowalskis?" Skipper raises an eyebrow.

"Cause she pretty." Rico smiles, and hiccups again.

"Aw, thank-you Rico. Sorry, Skipper. I was just answering the question on the table." Taralyn shrugs again.

A soft beeping sound begins, drawing the attention of everyone.

Rico waddled over and picked the pager up off the floor by the TV. "Iz for you."

The blinking words read '_Blue 18-32' _

**There it is: The first chapter of the last in the Grace arc. I really can't wait for this!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Bashvault is going to bring back 4 villians. Nominate your favorite villian from the series or the Grace arc. Doesn't matter if I've killed them off or not. **

Grace stumbles back. The red glow barely outlines Bashvault, but she is well aware of his abilities.

"What do you want Bashvault?" Grace lowers her tone and moves in front of him.

"The same thing I wanted all those years ago. The Ward of Souls."

"I'm afraid you can't have it. The Ward of Souls has been destroyed along with most other questionable artifacts."

"You're lying, Grace. I will slaughter everyone on this planet if I have to. The Ward of Souls will be mine."

"Over my dead body." Grace's ears fold back and her teeth catch the red glow.

"That is promised." The lights burst back on, revealing a room empty, except for the wolves and Court.

"The Hell was that?" Court looks around, "Where did he go?"

Erato moves closer to Grace, "It's not safe for you anymore."

"I'm staying Erato. There's nothing you can do about it. The end." Her word was final. "Shellie, how long did the broadcast continue after he shut the lights out?"

"About 7 minutes. It could have been worse." Shellie calls down from the broadcasting booth.

Grace sighs and starts to walk off the stage. "We need to guard the Ward with our lives. If Bashvault gets his hands on it, we could be facing an apocalyptic senario."

Eratothenis nods in agreement. "I will retrieve the Ward from it's place and bring it to you, Grace."

"No, Erato, I need you here to keep things under control. I have just the team to retrieve the Ward of Souls." Grace makes her way up the now empty auditorium and pauses at the door, looking back at the rest of them. "I am issuing disaster sequence Blue 18-32."

**_Central Park_**

The penguins stand perfectly still, watching the flashing alert. Private moves first.

"Skipper? What does that mean?"

"It is a disaster sequence from ACIS. It means that an apocalyptic event could possibly happen." the commanding penguin says.

"Apocalyptic as in?" Kowalski asks slowly.

Skipper shrugs, "I don't know. We've never had one before. We need to contact Grace and the ACIS headquarters."

The television clicked once, twice, three times, then came to life. a dark colored wolf with a light muzzle appeared.

"Eratothenis," Skipper recognizes him, "What's going on? Is everyone ok?"

"We are fine. Grace has something she needs from you. She said to tell you The number 1 graduating team." Erato seems confused. "Whatever that means."

"I understand." Skipper turns away from the television and waddles over to the fish on the wall. He carefully opens it and crawls three feet in, moves a rock and pushes a small button. His bunk slides out from the wall and opens. Skipper lifts a small trunk out and turns to Rico. "The key?"

Rico coughs up a small brass key and hends it to Skipper.

Skipper unlocks the box. "Boys, what you are about to see was entrusted to me years ago, before I even came to the zoo. It is possibly the most dangerous artifact in the entire country. It has caused more wars and more destruction than the atomic bomb."

Skipper pulls a medium sized leather bag from the box and sets it on the floor, he removes a book and several glass bottles roll out onto the floor. The bottles all contain a substance between a liquid and a gas, each a slightly different color ranging from deep red to pale blue.

"Gentlemen, and Taralyn. I give you The Ward of Souls."

For a brief moment, the penguins are caught off guard by it.

"I thought it was just a legend." Taralyn says, not looking away from the Ward.

"No, it's very real. The Ward of Souls holds the worst criminals to ever exist. This book explains how to resurrect them." Skipper studdies each of the penguins.

"That could be dangerous if it got into the wrong hands." Private guesses.

"Yes, exactly why I am taking it to Bashvault." a voice says from the shadows.

The lights go out in HQ as Skipper and the boys strike a fighting stance.

"Kowalski! The lights!" Skipper demands.

"I can't find the light switch!"

A beam of light shoots across the penguins lair and illuminates the far wall.

"Thanks Rico." Taralyn flicks the lights on.

"What was that?" Private asks.

"It's gone!" Skipper yelps. "The Ward of Souls is gone."


End file.
